Federal workers fired by DOGE still struggling months after program's end
This article examines the aftermath of the Trump administration's mass firing of federal workers through DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) initiatives, focusing on the story of Lucy, a pregnant former NIH employee. It details how thousands of federal workers were abruptly terminated, the chaos and trauma that followed, and the lasting damage to government agencies and individual lives. The piece highlights the human cost of the administration's efficiency-driven purge, including lost livelihoods, broken trust, and the ongoing struggle for workers to rebuild their lives even after the DOGE program officially ended on July 4.
Key quotes
It's hard to explain. Like, this is not a normal job loss.
When Lucy found out she was pregnant in the summer of 2025, she might have been delighted. Instead, the news added to the uncertainty she'd been facing since that February, when she was among the first crop of federal workers fired by the Trump administration.
Her old bosses at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) wanted to rehire her, but human resources offered nothing in writing, and given how the administration had treated her already, she just couldn't trust it.
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